12-letter words containing b, e, s
- basketweaver — a person who advocates simple, natural, and unsophisticated living
- basmati rice — a variety of long-grain rice with slender aromatic grains, used for savoury dishes
- basque shirt — a knitted pullover shirt having a crew neck, long or short sleeves, and a pattern of horizontal stripes.
- basse-taille — of or relating to an enameling technique in which transparent enamels are fused over a background carved in low relief, or to a piece, as of jewelry, so enameled.
- basses-alpes — former name of Alpes-de-Haute Provence.
- basset hound — A basset hound is a dog with short strong legs, a long body, and long ears. It is kept as a pet or used for hunting.
- basset table — a card table of the early 18th century in England.
- bastard file — a file of the commercial grade of coarseness between coarse and second-cut.
- bastel house — (on the Anglo-Scottish border) a partly fortified house, usually with a vaulted ground floor.
- bastille day — (in France) an annual holiday on July 14, commemorating the fall of the Bastille
- bathyscaphes — Plural form of bathyscaphe.
- bathyspheres — Plural form of bathysphere.
- batter's box — box1 (def 16a).
- battle clasp — clasp (def 4).
- battle dress — military field uniform and accouterments, generally camouflaged and stripped of all ornamentation.
- battlefields — Plural form of battlefield.
- battlefronts — Plural form of battlefront.
- battlewagons — Plural form of battlewagon.
- be at a loss — If you say that you are at a loss, you mean that you do not know what to do in a particular situation.
- be let loose — If you say that someone has been let loose in a place or situation, you mean that they have been given complete freedom to do what they like in that place or situation, and you suggest that this may be risky.
- be no slouch — If you say that someone is no slouch at a particular activity, you mean that they are skilful at it or are willing to work hard at it.
- beachcombers — Plural form of beachcomber.
- beaconsfield — a town in SE England, in Buckinghamshire. Pop: 12 292 (2001)
- beam compass — an instrument for drawing large circles or arcs, consisting of a horizontal beam along which two vertical legs slide
- beamsplitter — Alternative spelling of beam splitter.
- bean sprouts — the sprouts of newly germinated mung beans, eaten as a vegetable, esp in Chinese dishes
- bean-shooter — peashooter.
- bear witness — to give written or oral testimony
- bearableness — The characteristic of being bearable.
- bearded seal — a large gray-to-golden seal, Erignathus barbatus, inhabiting the Arctic Ocean and adjacent waters, having square foreflippers and a thick mustache of long bristles on each side of the muzzle.
- beardtongues — Plural form of beardtongue.
- bearskin rug — the pelt of a bear, used as a rug
- beaufort sea — part of the Arctic Ocean off the N coast of North America
- beaumarchais — Pierre Augustin Caron de (pjɛr oɡystɛ̃ karɔ̃ də). 1732–99, French dramatist, noted for his comedies The Barber of Seville (1775) and The Marriage of Figaro (1784)
- beautifulest — (dated) Most beautiful; more beautiful than anyone or anything else.
- beauty salon — A beauty salon is the same as a beauty parlour.
- beauty sleep — sleep, esp sleep before midnight
- beauty strip — a narrow forest corridor left uncut alongside a road or body of water.
- beaver falls — a city in W Pennsylvania.
- beaver state — Oregon (used as a nickname).
- becomingness — The state or quality of becoming.
- bed of nails — a situation or position of extreme difficulty
- bed of roses — If you say that a situation is not a bed of roses, you mean that it is not as pleasant as it seems, and that there are some unpleasant aspects to it.
- bedfordshire — a county of S central England, administered since 2009 by the unitary authorities of Bedford and Central Bedfordshire: mainly low-lying, with the Chiltern Hills in the south: the geographical county includes Luton, which became a separate unitary authority in 1997. Area (excluding Luton): 1192 sq km (460 sq miles)
- bedroom eyes — sexy eyes
- bedside lamp — a lamp beside a bed
- beef sausage — a sausage made of beef rather than pork
- beggar-ticks — any of various plants, such as the bur marigold and tick trefoil, having fruits or seeds that cling to clothing, fur, etc
- behaviourism — Behaviourism is the belief held by some psychologists that the only valid method of studying the psychology of people or animals is to observe how they behave.
- beit knesset — a synagogue: often used in the names of congregations